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Trump and his campaign have repeatedly referenced Bill Clinton's infidelity this week

"She's nasty, but I can be nastier than she ever can be," Trump says about Clinton

Washington (CNN)Donald Trump is turning up the heat on his attacks against Hillary Clinton about her husband's past infidelities after a rocky week for his campaign.

"She's nasty," Trump told The New York Times in an interview published Friday night, "but I can be nastier than she ever can be."

The comments were part of a wide ranging interview in which Trump also touched upon his marriages, his recent late-night Twitter rant and his performance at the first presidential debate.

"Hillary Clinton was married to the single greatest abuser of women in the history of politics," Trump told The Times. "Hillary was an enabler, and she attacked the women who Bill Clinton mistreated afterward. I think it's a serious problem for them, and it's something that I'm considering talking about more in the near future."

A section of roof lies on the platform after a New Jersey Transit train crashed through a major station in Hoboken on Thursday, September 29. At least one person was killed, officials said, and more than 100 were injured. Witnesses said the train overran its stopping point, slammed into a bumper block and went airborne. The cause is under investigation.

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Photos:The week in 35 photos

A waterspout passes near a beach in Turkey's Hatay Province on Friday, September 23.

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A woman hugs a boy following a shooting at an elementary school in Townville, South Carolina, on Wednesday, September 28. A teenager is suspected of opening fire at the school's playground, wounding two students and a teacher just one minute after placing a teary phone call that led to the discovery of his father's body at a nearby home.

Baseball fans and members of the Miami Marlins organization surround the hearse carrying Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez on Wednesday, September 28. Fernandez, 24, died in a boating accident on Sunday. A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Fernandez was a beloved figure in Miami, where so many of his countrymen have settled and prospered. He was a two-time All-Star and the National League's Rookie of the Year in 2013.

A dog named Frida shakes off some water as she comes out of the sea in Timmendorf, Germany, on Friday, September 23.

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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrives in Victoria, British Columbia, with her husband, Prince William, and their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte on Saturday, September 24. The British royals are on an eight-day tour of Canada.

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Volunteers retrieve bodies from the rubble following a reported airstrike in Aleppo, Syria, on Friday, September 23. "The city is now a ghost city," one man told CNN this week. "There are only ambulances and fire trucks around, and over the past three days the shelling has been horrible." More than 200 airstrikes hit the rebel-held city over the weekend, killing more than 100 people and injuring hundreds more, according to the head of the Syria Civil Defense group.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton pays his respects to former Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Knesset plaza in Jerusalem on Thursday, September 29. Peres, who shared a Nobel Prize for forging a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians, died Wednesday at the age of 93.

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Pyrotechnics are seen Sunday, September 25, as a military parachutist descends on Kalma Airport in Wonsan, North Korea. Thousands of Koreans and hundreds of foreign tourists and journalists were invited to the port city for the Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival. Video: North Korea shows off its air force

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A police officer blocks a freeway ramp during a protest in El Cajon, California, on Wednesday, September 28. Dozens of demonstrators were protesting the killing of Alfred Olango, a Ugandan refugee shot by a police officer after he pulled an object from a pocket, pointed it and assumed a "shooting stance," authorities said.

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A woman struggles with her umbrella as she eats food in Taipei, Taiwan, on Tuesday, September 27. Typhoon Megi brought powerful winds to the island before making landfall in mainland China.

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Military members watch U.S. President Barack Obama speak during a town-hall event in Fort Lee, Virginia, on Wednesday, September 28. Obama answered questions from service members during the forum, which was hosted by CNN.

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Vintage cars line a property near Morgan Hill, California, after the Loma wildfire burned through the area on Wednesday, September 28.

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Azerbaijani soldiers vote at a polling station in Baku on Monday, September 26. A referendum was being held on whether to hand extra powers to long-serving President Ilham Aliyev.

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Emergency personnel work at the scene of a house explosion in New York on Tuesday, September 27. Fire Battalion Chief Michael Fahy was killed in the explosion as he directed the response to a possible gas leak. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

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Singer Delta Goodrem is covered in slime during a Nickelodeon show in Melbourne on Sunday, September 25.

Twenty-three panda cubs were seen by the public for the first time in Chengdu, China, on Thursday, September 29. The cubs were born at the Chengdu Research Base earlier this year.

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A protester embraces a member of the National Guard in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday, September 22. Violent protests erupted in Charlotte following the death of Keith Lamont Scott, who was shot by police in an apartment complex parking lot. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Scott exited his car with a gun and that he was shot after he wouldn't drop it. Scott's family said he was unarmed and sitting in his car reading a book. What we know a week later

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Sheep are driven across London Bridge on Sunday, September 25. The annual tradition recognizes the right of the city's Freemen to drive sheep across the city's oldest river crossing.

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A man holds a fishing rod as floating trash hits the Mediterranean coastline in Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday, September 29.

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Teenagers participate in a candlelight vigil in Burlington, Washington, on Monday, September 26 -- two days after five people were fatally shot at a Burlington mall. Police say Arcan Cetin, 20, has confessed to the killings. He faces five counts of murder.

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Water continues to flow into a large sinkhole on the Mosaic Co. property, seen here in an aerial photo taken Thursday, September 29, in Mulberry, Florida. The giant sinkhole has allowed millions of gallons of contaminated water to flow into a Florida aquifer.

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The singer Sia, left, performs in Las Vegas at the iHeartRadio Music Festival on Friday, September 23.

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An anesthetist wearing a placard that says "doctor on strike" attends surgery at a Lyon, France, hospital on Monday, September 26. Many doctors in the country are protesting working conditions and demanding that the government implement measures to improve them.

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A police officer investigates a car belonging to lawyer Nathan DeSai, who shot and injured multiple people before he was killed by police in Houston on Monday, September 26. DeSai was a lone gunman who was disgruntled over matters at the law firm where he worked, according to Houston's mayor, who said he'd been briefed on the shooting by police.

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Members of the Castellers form a human tower or "castel" during the La Merce celebrations in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, September 25.

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Children play on the banks of the Ganges river in Allahabad, India, on Friday, September 23.

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Performers from a small theater company hold shirts as they rehearse their act near the courthouse in Bobigny, France, on Tuesday, September 27. At the courthouse, some Air France workers were on trial for an incident last year where two airline executives had their shirts ripped off during a protest over job cuts.

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An artist in an astronaut costume performs during the opening ceremony of the International Astronautical Congress, which took place Monday, September 26, in Guadalajara, Mexico. See last week in 40 photos

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Trump and his campaign, however, have repeatedly referenced Bill Clinton's infidelity this week. The Saturday before the debate, he threatened to bring Gennifer Flowers as a guest to the debate, and after Monday's event, he told CNN's Dana Bash he was "happy" he was able to refrain from mentioning "the indiscretions with respect to Bill Clinton."

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On Wednesday, a copy of Trump campaign talking points instructed supporters to use figures like Flowers and Monica Lewinsky to counter criticism of Trump's treatment of a former Miss Universe.

Referring to Eric Trump's comments earlier in the week that Donald Trump showed "courage" in not bringing up the issue at the debate, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon tweeted Friday night, "Assume (Eric Trump) now believes he's a coward."

Photos:Old pals: Donald Trump and Bill Clinton

Photos:Old pals: Donald Trump and Bill Clinton

This series of fives photos were taken in September 2000 at the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. They were released by the Clinton Presidential Library on Friday, September 9.

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Photos:Old pals: Donald Trump and Bill Clinton

The photographs from 2000 were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act filed by Politico.

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Photos:Old pals: Donald Trump and Bill Clinton

This photo includes Melania Knauss, now Trump's wife, and a fourth woman, identified by Politico as Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kylie Bax, wearing a T-shirt with the Playboy bunny emblazoned across it.

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Photos:Old pals: Donald Trump and Bill Clinton

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Photos:Old pals: Donald Trump and Bill Clinton

These last two images were taken Friday, June, 16, 2000, at Trump Tower.

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Photos:Old pals: Donald Trump and Bill Clinton

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He also told the Times that his own marriage history does not prevent him from being able to make attacks against the Clintons' relationship. Trump has been married three times, and his first marriage fell apart after he carried on an affair with Marla Maples.

Bill Clinton's infidelities, Trump said, "brought shame onto the presidency, and Hillary Clinton was there defending him all along."

The GOP presidential nominee told the paper that he believes the issue will worsen Hillary Clinton's likeability with female voters.

Asked if he ever cheated on his wives, Trump responded: "No — I never discuss it. I never discuss it. It was never a problem."

And when asked specifically about his affair with Maples, he responded, "I don't talk about it. I wasn't president of the United States. I don't talk about it. When you think of the fact that he was impeached, the country was in turmoil, turmoil, absolute turmoil. He lied with Monica Lewinsky and paid a massive penalty."

Photos:Donald Trump's rise

President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

The Trump family, circa 1986.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987.

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Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989.

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Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve."

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990.

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Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice."

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in real estate. Three separate lawsuits -- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless." And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically motivated.

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Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005.

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Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007.

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Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996.

Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April.

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Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people."

Trump apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize," Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released.

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Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York.

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'Absolutely disgusted'

Trump also tore into Clinton's decision to feature Alicia Machado, a 1996 Miss Universe whom Trump allegedly called "Miss Piggy" and "Miss Housekeeping," as a surrogate. Machado has joined the Clinton campaign in publicly denouncing Trump's comments against women, and Trump has responded with smears against the former beauty queen during interviews and on Twitter, including shaming her for a sex tape for which the campaign has not provided evidence.

Trump told the Times he was "absolutely disgusted" that Clinton enlisted the help of Machado for her campaign and that Clinton, who has portrayed Machado as a victim, had "made this young lady into a girl scout when she was the exact opposite."

Looking ahead to the next debate, Trump said he's going to start preparing as early as this weekend. But he does not think that he needs to prepare more rigorously, blaming audio issues Monday with distracting him.